in despair: hi my daughter whose 15 has an under... - Thyroid UK

Thyroid UK

137,156 members160,846 posts

in despair

jwoodward5 profile image
18 Replies

hi my daughter whose 15 has an under active thyroid and has been on 75 mg of levothyroxine for 6 months, she feels no better and has actually gained weight and is so depressed about it . we have done a bit of research and found many people have said levo didn't work for them and made them gain weight and that armour thyroid or liothyronine made their life so much better and lost weight, ive asked her endo doc to give her either but he has said no, what can we do? she is now said she will no longer take the levo as its making her worse. any ideas anyone? I just don't know what else to do?

Written by
jwoodward5 profile image
jwoodward5
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Read more about...
18 Replies
Marz profile image
Marz

Hi and Welcome ! Do you have any results with ranges you could share - so members can comment and hopefully help. Has your daughter had the vital nutrients tested ? - B12 - Folate - Ferritin - VitD ? All these need to be optimal for the thyroid hormones to work well in the body. Sorry another question - does your daughter have Hashimotos ?

jwoodward5 profile image
jwoodward5 in reply to Marz

Hi i will find her latest bloods bit dont think she had nitrients checked . Also what is hashimotos please

pffft2017 profile image
pffft2017 in reply to jwoodward5

The NHS define Hashimotos as;

nhs.uk/conditions/thyroiditis/

Your GPs and endocrinologists will fight tooth and nail to refuse you T3 ( liothyronine ) because of the cost. They won't even entertain the idea until your daughter's results are within normal range. It took me two years to find a decent doc to prescribe T3. Try to find an endocrinologist in your area who does prescribe T3 and ask her father to attend the appointment with her as most medics are too quick to dismiss women's opinions and symptoms.

jwoodward5 profile image
jwoodward5 in reply to pffft2017

How do you go about finding a doc who does prescribe t3?

Marz profile image
Marz in reply to jwoodward5

Your daughter may not need T3 - once we see the results and ranges members can advise.

jwoodward5 profile image
jwoodward5 in reply to Marz

Ive posted bloods below

Marz profile image
Marz in reply to jwoodward5

Sorry we need ranges as labs do vary ....

jwoodward5 profile image
jwoodward5 in reply to Marz

T4 range 9-23

Tsh 0.35 -5.5

T3 not given

Marz profile image
Marz in reply to jwoodward5

So her TSH is over range and the FT4 not high enough in the range - an increase is needed in Levo/T4 ....

jwoodward5 profile image
jwoodward5 in reply to Marz

but tsh was 1,7 which is in range .35-5.5?

pffft2017 profile image
pffft2017 in reply to jwoodward5

I'm sure the thyroid community will know of a decent endocrinologist. I ended up going private but I wouldn't recommend him. First see if your daughter improves once her levels are normal.

jwoodward5 profile image
jwoodward5 in reply to Marz

No shes had scans on neck which is larger than normal bit they say normal so guess hasnt got hashimotos

greygoose profile image
greygoose

She should not have been left on 75 mcg levo for six months. It's little more than a starter dose. Has she not had a blood test during all that time? She's probably under-medicated - nothing is going to help if you don't take enough of it! But, as Marz says, we need to see some results to know what's going on. :)

jwoodward5 profile image
jwoodward5

She had blood tests in december when he increased dose from 50 to 75 thing is she absolutely petrified of having blood tests so not as easy to just get them all time it traumatises her ill get results when get home

Treepie profile image
Treepie

Hashimotos or auto immune thyroiditis is diagnosed by antibody blood tests not how she looks.

Sadly she will have to get used to blood tests.On a low dose she may feel bad as her own thyroid reacts by producing less hormone on sensing the introduced

You have had good advice .I suggest you read up about the disease on the Thyroid UK web site.

jwoodward5 profile image
jwoodward5

So her bloods in aug 17 were tsh 7.05. Free t4 15 ftee t3 not tested

In dec 17 after 50 mg levothyroxine tsh was 1.7. Free t3 5.8 and free t4 15

Can anyone comment on these

Rapunzel profile image
Rapunzel

Did she take her levo the morning of the test? what time of day was the test taken?

thyroiduk.org/tuk/testing/t...

This is a real can of worms, I'm afraid

jwoodward5 profile image
jwoodward5

The first test shenwasnt on levo the second she dis take levo at 8 am and test done around 11.30 ish

You may also like...

Despair

So today I went to gp! Refused a referral to endo! Asked for T3 trial following my medic heck’s...

I despair !!

The attached photo is what I got back from my GP after asking for Thyroid Function Test. I had a...

Despairing spouse

and he has lost a stone in weight. He sometimes feels hot and sometimes cold. He phoned the doc...

Sometimes I despair

updated November 17, 2017. If this has been updated I hate to think what was recommended earlier....

Oh despair! Worse than ever after trying diet and supplement way.

improvement (no levo etc) and T4 and T3 went back into range, TSH was a little over, but much...